Maryland Lump Crab Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce

Not only are these crab cakes delicious and moist, they’re ready in 15 minutes! There’s no chopping and very little prep. Low-carb and air fryer instructions included below!

Lump Crab Cake Recipe

I love crab cakes! Every time my husband and I go to a restaurant, I nearly always order the crab cakes after I ask the server if they’re popular and if they’re loaded with fillers.

I need to know this important information before I order because crab cakes need to be moist, not processed with fillers (YUCK!) and have a fresh, good seasoned taste to them. Did I mention that I love crab cakes?

Every summer we vacation near the shores of Maryland and we have our fill of seafood! There’s a place we rent that is walking distance to one of the best seafood places. We hit up that restaurant 3 times during our stay.

Maryland Crab Cakes made with lump crab meat are the best and I’m going to share a good recipe for them because I know a thing or two about good crab cakes!

Not only are these crab cakes delicious, they’re ready in 15 minutes! There’s no chopping and very little prep.

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes make for a great Lenten dinner. Plus, this recipe is low carb too!

There’s on a half of a cup of bread crumbs that makes 8 crab cakes so there’s under 10 grams of carbs per crab cake. So, if you can eat only one, you won’t be eating a lot of carbs here.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which means, if you make a purchase, I’ll receive a very small commission which helps with blog expenses so you can continue to receive FREE recipes but, the price you pay is the same.

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce

This recipe uses canned crab but, of course if you want to use fresh out of the shell crab meat, knock yourself out because that would be phenomenal tasting!

As a matter of fact, I’ve made my Crab and Corn Chowder with fresh out of the shell king crab legs once and it was to die for.

Here’s the lump crab meat I used for this recipe but, other good quality brands can be used too.

How to Make Crab Cakes with Canned Crab

The printable recipe is at the bottom of this post. Air fryer instructions are below and also in the recipe card.

These crab cakes can be broiled for 8-10 min at 500F or baked at 375F for 20 min but, I prefer pan frying them in a little olive oil. It gives them good flavor and a crispy exterior.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb canned lump crab meat
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Djon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs or Panko
• 3 tbsp oil for pan frying

Instructions:

1. In a medium bowl, add and stir together all ingredients except for crab, bread crumbs and oil.
2. Fold in the crab and bread crumbs until combined.
3. Quarter (score) the mixture with your hand. Each quarter will make 2 crab cakes. This will help make even size crab cakes. Form them into patties. If you have time, you can refrigerate crab cakes for 15 minutes before pan frying to help them stay together.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan big enough to hold all of the crab cakes at once or fry them in two batches. Add crab cakes and cook 4-5 minutes on each side. You may need to add a bit more oil during pan frying, if necessary.

Spicy Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp relish
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce or hot sauce

Instructions:

In a small bowl, stir together ingredients. Refrigerate leftover.

How to Make Maryland Crab Cakes in an Air Fryer

Use the same ingredients and instructions as above except for Instruction #4.

Basket Air Fryer

1. Put the crab cakes in your basket air fryer in one layer, if you have a basket air fryer. You’ll need to cook them in batches.
2. Spray the top and bottom of each crab cake with oil spray.
3. Set to cook them for 10-15 minutes on 375F. Check to see if they’re cooked inside before eating. It may take a few more minutes as air fryer temperatures vary and also upon the size of your crab cakes. Bigger crab cakes will take longer.

Power Oven Air Fryer

1. If you have a Power Oven Air Fryer which has racks, place 4 crab cakes on each of two racks.
2. Spray the top and bottom of each crab cake with oil spray.
3. Set timer to cook them for 20 min on 375F. Check to see if they’re cooked and leave them in three minutes longer if not. Bigger crab cakes will take longer.

How to Serve Crab Cakes

• Make this recipe into bite size crab cakes and serve as appetizers.
• Make crab cake sandwiches for lunch or dinner using round rolls or brioche rolls.

What Side Dishes Go with Crab Cakes?

This would make a great crab cake dinner party menu!

• Parmesan Rosemary Air Fryer Roasted Potatoes-6 ingredients
• Cole slaw
• Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad
• Dill Potato Salad
• Greek Tortellini Salad
• French fries or sweet potato fries of course (total yum)
• potato chips
• pickles

Can Crab Cakes be Made Gluten Free?

Yes! Use gluten free bread crumbs. I tried this recipe with 1/2 cup of coconut flour and I found it to be grainy and a bit gritty. I prefer using bread crumbs. You could try using almond flour too.

You only need enough bread crumbs to hold the crab and seasonings together. The beaten egg helps with this also.

You are 15 min away from moist, delicious restaurant quality crab cakes! Homemade Maryland Lump Crab Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce are an easy, quick and tasty dinner, lunch or appetizers! Get your ingredients and let’s get cooking!

Print Pin

4.72 from 7 votes

Maryland Lump Crab Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce

You are 15 min away from moist, delicious restaurant quality crab cakes! Homemade Maryland Lump Crab Cakes with Spicy Tartar Sauce are an easy, quick and tasty dinner, lunch or appetizers! Low carb and gluten free option.

Course dinner, lunch

Cuisine American

Keyword Maryland Lump Crab Cakes

Prep Time 7 minutes minutes

Cook Time 8 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 221cal

Author Joanne Schweitzer

Ingredients

• 1 lb canned lump crab meat remove loose shells
• 1 large egg beaten
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp Djon mustard
• 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs or Panko
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, canola or corn oil

Spicy Tartar Sauce

• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce or hot sauce
• 1 tsp relish

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, add and stir together all ingredients except for crab, bread crumbs and oil. 
• Fold in the crab and bread crumbs until combined.
• Quarter (score) the mixture with your hand. Each quarter will make 2 crab cakes. This will help make even size crab cakes. Form them into patties. If you have the time, refrigerate crab cakes for 15 minutes before pan frying to help them stay together. 
• Heat oil in a frying pan big enough to hold all of the crab cakes at once or fry them in two batches. Add crab cakes and cook 4-5 minutes on each side. You may need to add a little more oil, if necessary while pan frying.

Spicy Tartar Sauce

• In a small bowl, add ingredients and stir together. Refrigerate leftover.

Notes

Storage:

Store leftover crab cakes covered, in the refrigerator for two days. They may be frozen in a plastic container with lid for up to 3 months.

How to Make Maryland Crab Cakes in an Air Fryer

Use the same ingredients and instructions as above except for Instruction #4.

Basket Air Fryer

1. Put the crab cakes in your basket air fryer in one layer, if you have a basket air fryer. You'll need to cook them in batches.
2. Spray the top and bottom of each crab cake with oil spray.
3. Set to cook them for 10-15 minutes on 375F. Check to see if they're cooked inside before eating. It may take a few more minutes as air fryer temperatures vary and also upon the size of your crab cakes. Bigger crab cakes will take longer.

Power Oven Air Fryer

1. If you have a Power Oven Air Fryer which has racks, place 4 crab cakes on each of two racks.
2. Spray the top and bottom of each crab cake with oil spray.
3. Set timer to cook them for 20 min on 375F. Check to see if they're cooked and leave them in three minutes longer if not. Bigger crab cakes will take longer.

Nutrition

Serving: 0g | Calories: 221cal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 83mg | Sodium: 448mg | Potassium: 179mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 118IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 1mg